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Significant storm damage in Hattiesburg, Miss.

This photo provided by Jordan Holliman shows a tornado moving through Hattiesburg, Miss., on Sunday. Emergency officials say an apparent tornado has caused significant damage in Hattiesburg, Miss., after passing along a main road. Major damage was reported in Hattiesburg and Petal, including on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi.

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

Published: Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 6:35 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 6:35 p.m.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. | A tornado tore through Hattiesburg on Sunday as part of a wave of severe storms that downed trees, damaged buildings and injured more than a dozen people.

The twister traveled down one of Hattiesburg's main streets and mangled homes, commercial buildings and structures on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. Emergency officials said at least 10 people were injured in surrounding Forrest County and three were hurt to the west in Marion County, but they weren't aware of any deaths.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn said it appears that a single tornado caused the damage in those two counties and Lamar County. Hundreds of homes are damaged in Forrest County, along with a couple dozen in the other two.

Flynn said the sheer scope of the damage was slowing the assessment of damage.

“The problem is, it was so strong that there's so much debris that there's a lot of areas they haven't been able to get to yet,” he said.

On the campus of the university, trees were snapped in half around the heavily damaged Alumni House where part of the roof was ripped away. Windows in a nearby building were blown out, and heavy equipment worked to clear streets nearby in a heavy rain after the worst of the weather had passed.

The university released a statement saying no one was hurt but that it was under a state of emergency, anyone away from campus should stay away until further notice.

Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee says 10 or 15 people were injured by the tornado that slammed Hattiesburg and other parts of the county — but none of the injuries was serious.

He says, “Most of our injuries have been walking wounded.”

To the west, Marion County emergency director Aaron Greer says three injuries have been reported in the community of Pickwick, about seven miles south of Columbia. He says two people were taken to hospitals, but the third didn't have the injury examined.

Gov. Phil Bryant plans to go to Hattiesburg today to check out damage in the city and at USM, his alma mater, spokesman Mick Bullock said.

<p>HATTIESBURG, Miss. | A tornado tore through Hattiesburg on Sunday as part of a wave of severe storms that downed trees, damaged buildings and injured more than a dozen people. </p><p>The twister traveled down one of Hattiesburg's main streets and mangled homes, commercial buildings and structures on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. Emergency officials said at least 10 people were injured in surrounding Forrest County and three were hurt to the west in Marion County, but they weren't aware of any deaths. </p><p>Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn said it appears that a single tornado caused the damage in those two counties and Lamar County. Hundreds of homes are damaged in Forrest County, along with a couple dozen in the other two. </p><p>Flynn said the sheer scope of the damage was slowing the assessment of damage. </p><p>“The problem is, it was so strong that there's so much debris that there's a lot of areas they haven't been able to get to yet,” he said. </p><p>On the campus of the university, trees were snapped in half around the heavily damaged Alumni House where part of the roof was ripped away. Windows in a nearby building were blown out, and heavy equipment worked to clear streets nearby in a heavy rain after the worst of the weather had passed. </p><p>The university released a statement saying no one was hurt but that it was under a state of emergency, anyone away from campus should stay away until further notice. </p><p>Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee says 10 or 15 people were injured by the tornado that slammed Hattiesburg and other parts of the county — but none of the injuries was serious. </p><p>He says, “Most of our injuries have been walking wounded.”</p><p>To the west, Marion County emergency director Aaron Greer says three injuries have been reported in the community of Pickwick, about seven miles south of Columbia. He says two people were taken to hospitals, but the third didn't have the injury examined. </p><p>Gov. Phil Bryant plans to go to Hattiesburg today to check out damage in the city and at USM, his alma mater, spokesman Mick Bullock said.</p>